SAFE Cities Network

In the face of stepped-up immigration enforcement, millions of non-citizens—many of them taxpaying lawful permanent residents—are at risk of extended detention and permanent separation from their families and communities. Expanding legal representation for immigrants facing detention and deportation has thus become a crucial last line of defense for our immigrant communities. Studies show that immigrants who are represented are up to ten times more likely to establish a right to remain in the United States than those who are unrepresented. But, almost no non-citizens are legally entitled to government-funded representation, and most go unrepresented, facing permanent separation from their loved ones, their livelihoods, and their communities if deported.

Local governments are now the “laboratories” that create new policies and programs that serve as national models for innovation and reform. To build on and spur this local innovation around counsel in removal proceeding pioneered by the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, Vera has created the SAFE (Safety & Fairness for Everyone) Cities Network. SAFE Cities is a group of geographically and politically diverse local jurisdictions from around the country that are committed to keeping communities safe and strong by protecting due process and providing legal representation to immigrants facing deportation.

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Jordan KesslerDirector of Developmentjkessler@vera.org212-376-3003

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